Sparking device.



5 PATENTED DBG. l, 1903. G. L. BARKER. v SPARKING DEVICE. ArPLIouIN rugJUNE n, 1903.

2 SHEETS-SHEET N0 MODEL` SK HW No. 745,474. PATENTED DEC. l, N03. f

C. L. BAKKER. SPARKING DEVIB.l

APPLIUATION Hmm .umn 11, mos.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

N0 MODEL.

WITNESSES.

INVENTOR.

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iro. 745,474.

UNITED STATES atented December i, 1903i.

oi-IAELES L. Bannion, oE NORWALK, CONNECTICUT.'

SPARKING D EVIGE.

SPECIFICATION'forming part of Letters Patent No. 745,474, dated December1, 1903. Application filed June ll, 1903. d Serial. No. 161,005. (Nomodel.)

To all whom, it may concern,.-

Be it known that L CHARLES L. BARKER, a

' citizen of the United States, residing at Nor- Walk, county ofFaireld, State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful SparkingDevice, of which the following is a spect iication.

My invention relates to the class of sparking devices known to the tradeas snap or touch sparkers.

It is one of the objects of this invention to produce a sparking deviceall parts of which, with the exception of the operating mechanism, shallbe carried by a single block and shall all be removable from the enginewith the block and at a single operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide a sparking device havingbut a single spring, which shall be so arranged and combined with theoperative parts of the device as to normally hold the sparking-poin tsseparated, to throw the sparking-points together when acted upon by theoperating device, to press the sparking-points together by compression,tol separate the sparking points when the hammer is released, to cushionthe blow of the ham mer on the dog, and to retain a hub against a groundseat,thereby preventing leakage of gas from the explosion-chamber.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in certainconstructions and in certain parts, improvements, and combinations,which will be hereinafter described and then specifically pointed out inthe claims hereunto appended.

` lIn the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specication, inwhich like charactors of reference indicate like parts, Figure l is anelevation illustrating my novel sparking device with reciprocatingoperating mechanism, the parts being in the normal or inoperativeposition; Fig. 2, a similar view showing the position of the parts aninstant before the latch releases the hammer; Fig. 3, a section on theline 3 3 in Fig. l'looking toward the bottom of the sheet; Fig. 4, anelevation from a point of viewopposite to that in Figs. l and 2, theposition of the movable sparking-point in full lines corresponding Wit-hFig. 2 and the dotted position of the movable sparking-pointcorresponding with Fig. l; and Fig. 5 is an elevation illustrating aform in which the operation is precisely the same; but the shape of thehammer and dog are slightly changed to adapt them for use in connectionwith either rotary or oscillatory operating mechanism.

- 20 denotes a portion of the Wall of the eX- plosion-ehamber of anengine, in connection with which the sparking device may be used, and-2la block which carries the sparking device and which extends through andis tightly seated in an opening 22 in the Wall, the block being rigidlybut detachably secured in place by screws or in any preferred manner.

23 and 24 denote, respeotively,.the fixed and movable sparking-points.sparking-point 23 is at the inner end of a rod 25, which extends throughthe block and is insulated therefrom by means of an insulating-sleeve 26and insulating-washers 27 or in any preferred manner. Upon the outer endof rod 25 is a binding-post 28, to which one of the circuit-Wires (notshown) is attached, the other circuit-wire (not shown) being connectedin any convenient manner to block 21. Sparking-point 24C is at the endof alever 30, carried by an oscillatory shaft 29, which extends throughthe block and is adapted to be moved longitudinally therein for thepurpose ot' cleaning the contact-points by friction, as Will be morefully explained. The central portion of shaft 29 isshown as reduced indiameter, as at 31, in order to lessen the bearing-surface upon theblock. In order to prevent leakage of gas through the opening in theblock for shaft 29, I grind the inner end of the hub 32 0f lever 30 andthe corresponding surface on the inner face of the block, as at 33,making, in fact, a ground joint, as the hub is retained closely inengagement with the surface of the block by means of the springpresently to be described. At the outer end of shaft 29 and.

rigidly-secured thereto is a dog 34. I have shown the dog as secured tothe shaft by means of a set-screw 35 and a set-11111136.

'The dog is provided with an undercut lug 37 ICO hammer is provided witha projection 4l, which is adapted to engage projection 38 on the dogwith a projection 42, which is adapted to be engaged by a part which Ishall term for convenience the latch ot' the 'operating mechanism,presently to be described, andv the form illustrated in Figs. l, 2, and3 the hammer is additionally provided with a lug 46, which is engaged bythe other arm of the spring. In the form illustrated in Fig. 5 lug 46 isdispensed with and the arm of the spring engages finger-piece 45.

47 denotes the spring already referred to, which is coiled looselyaround pin 40, on which the hammer oscillates, and is provided with anarm 48 to engage undercut lug 37 on the dog and with an arm 49 to engagelug 46 or in the form illustrated in Fig. 5 to engage finger-piece onthe hammer. The operation of this spring is manifold, as will presentlybe fully explained.

As already stated, the special form of operating device used is not ofthe essence of the invention. In Figs. l and 2 I have illustrated theuse of my novel sparking device in connection with an operating device,consisting of a reciprocating plunger 50, having at its forward end aslot 5l, in which is pivoted a latch 52, said latch in this form beingprovided with an arm 53, which is adapted to engage projection 42 on thehammer, with an arm 54, adapted to engage the rear wall of slot 5l,which serves as a stop to limit the backward movement of the latch, andwith an arm 55, which is adapted to engage an adjustable regulating-cam56, whereby the disengagement of the hammer from the latch may behastened or delayed, thereby producing a quicker or a slower spark, asmay be required. It'will of course be obvious that the special shape ofthe regulating-cam is comparatively unimportant. It is simply essentialthat a low point and a high point be provided for engagement by arm 55.In the present instance I have shown a cam having a low point 57, a highpoint 58, and a threaded shank 59 engaging a split hub 60, which-extendsupward from the block. A cross-screw 6l above the shank causes the sidesof the hub to clamp the shank tightly and lock the cam in any positionin which it may be placed. The cam is shown as provided with anoperating-arm 62 for convenience in making the adjustment.

63 denotes a spring which acts to retain the latch in operativeposition, as in Fig. l, in which arm 54 is shown as thrown backwardagainst the rear wall of the slot. When the plunger is moved forward,arm 53 on the latch engages projection 42 on the hammer and swings thehammer around from the position shown in Fig. l toward the positionshown in Fig. 2, this movement continuing until arm upon the latchengages the regulating-cam, which causes the latch to tilt backwardagainst the power of spring 63 and causes arm 53 to slip past the end ofprojection 42 on the hammer, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2,thereby releasing the hammer with a snap and causing the hammer, dog,and lever 30,carrying the movable sparking-point, to return to theirnormal position, asin Fig. l and in dotted lines in Fig. 4. In Fig. 2arm 55 is shown as engaging the regulating-cam at a point intermediatethe high pointandthelowpoint. Toproduceaquicker spark, theregulating-cam would be turned s0 as to place a higher portion thereofin position to be engaged by arm 55, thereby hastening the release ofthe hammer by the latch. To produce a slower spark-that is, to delay thesparking action-the cam would be turned so as to place a lower portionthereof in position to be engaged by arm 55, thereby delay.- ing thetripping of the latch and the release of the hammer.

The several actions of the spring are as follows: In the normal positionof the parts, as in Fig. 1, both arms of spring 47 are acting upon thedog, butin opposite directions. Arm 48is directly in engagement withundercut lug 37 on the dog, and its normal action is to swing projection38 of the dog toward the right, as seen in Fig. 1. Arm 49 of the springbears against lug 46 on the hammer and throws projection 4l of thehammer against projection 38 of the dog. As the point of engagement ofprojection 4l with thedog is at a greater distance from the center ofoscillation of the dog than the point of engagement with said dog of arm48 of the spring, it necessarily follows on account of the greaterleverage and the fact that the axis of the dog is at one side of or outof alinement with the axis of the hammer that the dog will be controlledby arm 49 of the spring through the hammer and that projection 38 of thedog will be swung toward the left, as seen in Fig. l, by the engagementtherewith of projection 4l upon the hammer until the oscillation of thehammer is stopped by engagement of projection 43 with stop 44, whichwill leave the sparking-points at their normal or separated position.What may be termed the rst action of the spring is therefore to hold thesparking-points at their normal or separated position. When, however,the hammer is oscillated by the engagement therewith of the operatingmechanism-for example, latch 52 in Figs. l and 2-the action of arm 49 ofthe spring upon the dog is overcome, the coil is tightened, and thespring acts, through arm 48, upon the dog to swing it in the oppositedirection and throw the movable sparkingpoint into contact with thefixed sparkingpoint, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2 and as shownin full lines in Fig. 4. The second action of the spring is therefore tothrow the sparking-points together when the oper- IOO IIO

blow of the hammer on the dog.

ating Vmechanism acts. The third action of the spring is a pressing ofthe movable sparking-point against the xed sparking-point, which isproduced by the compression of the spring as the latch swings the hammerfrom the position shown in Fig. l toward the position shown in -Fig.i2,which compression continues and grows stronger until the hammer isreleased by the tripping of the latch. The fourth action of the springis to separate the sparking-points upon the release of the hammer.Thisis effected inthe same manner as the action first described. Thecompression of the spring and the pressure ofthe movable contact-pointagainst the fixed contact-point ceases the instant arm 53 of the latchthrough the engagement of arm 55 with the regulatingcam and thecontinued forward movement of the plunger is caused to ride off fromprojectien 42 ofthe hammer. y The instant the hammer is released thepressure of arm 48 of the spring on the dog is overcome and the springacts, through arm 49, to swing the hammer backward-that is, in theopposite direction from that in which it has been swung by the operatingmechanism. The resultis that projection 4l of the hammer is thrownagainst projection 38 upon the dog. This blow of the hammer luponthe dogseparates the contactpoints instantly', which separation causes theproduction ofr'a spark between them. The fifth action of the spring isto cushion the This action will be cbviousrwhen it is remembered that atthe instant the blow of the hammer upon the dog takes place arm 48 ofthe spring is holding the movable contact-point against the fixedcontact-point, and while this action is overcome by the action of arm 49of the spring and the delivery of the blow arm 48 must still act tocushion the blow. The sixth action of the spring is a lifting actionupon the dog through the engagement of arm 48 with undercut lug 37, theefect being to lift the dog, so as to draw the shaft 29 and lever 30 inthe direction of the length of the shaft and press the ground surface ofhub 32 of the lever againstthe corresponding ground surface upontheinner face of the block, as at 33, thus making a tight joint andpreventing the leakage of gas from the engine around shaft 29;

It is an important feat-ure of my invention that a si m ple andconvenient way is provided for cleaning the contact-points by friction..It will be noted (see Fig. 3) that the normal position of the dogis atsufficient distance above the outer surface of the block to leave aclear space between them, which I have indicated by 7l. To clean thecontacts, the operatorsimply takes hold of the dog and moves it up Vanddown, moving shaft'29 longitudinally and rubbing the surface of themovable contact over the surface of the fixed contact, the range ofmovement vof the movable contactiu this cleaning operation beingindicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3. As soon as the cleaning movement iscompleted army 48 of .mechanism illustrated in Figs. l and 2.

the springfwill return hub 32 to the position shown in Fig. 3, whichagain makesV a perfectly tight joint around the shaft.

In the form illustrated in Fig. 5 rotary or oscillatory operatingmechanism is' substituted in lieu of the .reciprocatory operating 64denotes a disk which may either rotate or oscillate, and 65 a latchhaving the shape of a ,bell-crank lever, which` is pivoted to the disk.The shape of both hammer and dog in this yform is moditied, but withoutchange of principle, to correspond with a rotating or oscillating latchinstead of a reciprocating latch. The latch illustrated is provided withan arm 66, which is adapted to engage projection 42 lon the hammer, andwith an arm 67, which is normally held in contact with a stop 68 bymeans of a spring 69, one end of which is connected to the arm of thelatch and the other 'to a pin 70, extending from the disk.

The operation will be obvious from the drawings. The movement-of thedisk is in the Vdirection of the arrow, the end ofV arm 66 of the latchengaging projection 42 of the hamj 1 mer and swinging said projectiontoward the left from the position shown in Fig. 5, the action beingprecisely the same as in the other form. If the disk rotates, it isobviously not necessary that the latch should yield, it being simplyrequired that the latch should be so shaped as toengage the hammer,oscillate it vsufticientlyfo1"the purpose required, and then release it,as in the other form.

If the movement of the disk is oscillatory, the latch must necessarilyyield in order to clear projection 42 ofthe hammer on the returnmovement. In the form illustrated the action of operating the latch isprecisely the same whether the disk rotates or oscillates.

YThen the disk oscillates, it moves in the direction of the arrow untilafter the latch has lbeen operated and then moves backward in theopposite direction. In the backward movement the latch engages the backof projectionv42 on the hammer and is oscillated against the power ofspring 69 until lthe latch lclears the hammer, (the retracted positionof 'the latch being indicated by dotted lines,)

when the spring will instantly return the latch to its normal oroperative positiomas in full lines.

Having thus described my invention, IV claim- 1. A sparking devicecomprising a fixed sparking-point, an oscillatory shaft carrying at oneend a lever whose outer end forms a movable sparking-point, and at theother end a dog, an oscillatory hammer adapted toengage the dog, theaxes of the dog and hammer being out of alinement, a spring bearingagainst the dog and against the hammer, the point of engagement of thehammer with the dog being at a greater distance from the center of theshaft than the point of engagement of the spring with the dog, andoperating mechanism whereby the hammer is oscillated to hold thecontact-points separated owing to the greater leverageexerted by thespring on the dog through the hammer, then when said leverage isovercome by oscillation of the hammer acting to throw the movablecontactpoint into engagement with the fixed contactpoint and pressingthe movable contact-point against the fixed contact-pointwhenthe springis compressed, then when the hammer is released separating thecontact-points and cushioning the blowof the hammer upon the dog.

2. In a device of the character described the combination with anoscillatory shaft and a dog carried thereby, of an oscillatory hammer`adapted to engage the dog, the axes of the dog and hammer being ont ofalinement, a spring bearing against the dog and against the' hammer, thepoint of engagement of the hammer with the dog being at a greaterdistance' from the center of the shaft than the point of engagement ofthe spring with the dog so that the shaft will be controlled by thehammer, and means for oscillating theham mer against the power of thespring and then releasing it with a snap so that when the leverage ofthe hammer on the dog is overcome, the spring will oscillate the shaftin the opposite direction, and when the hammer is released the partswill return to theirnormal position, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

3. In a device of the character described the combination with anoscillatory dog and an oscillatory hammer adapted to engage the dog, theaxes of the dog and hammer being out of alinement, of a spring bearingagainst the dog and against the hammer, the point of engagement of thehammer with the dog being at a greater distance from the center ofoscillation of the dog than the point of engagement of the spring withthe dog so that the dog will normally be swung in the direction thehammer is swung by the spring, and means for oscillating the hammeragainst the power of the spring and then releasing it with a snap,whereby the leverage of the hammer on the dog is overcome and the dog isswung in the opposite direction by the spring until the hammer isreleased, when the leverage of the hammer on the dog will overcome thepower eX- erted on the dog by the spring and will return the dog to itsnormal position.

4. In a device of the character described the combination with a fixedsparking-point, an oscillatory shaft carrying at one end a lever whoseouter end forms a movable sparkingpoint, and at the other end a dog, ofan oscillatory hammer adapted to engage the dog, the axes of the dog andhammerbeing out of alinement, a spring bearing against the dog andagainst the hammer, the point of engagement of the hammer with the dogbeing at a greater distance from the center of the shaft than the pointof engagement of the spring with the dog, and operating mechanismwhereby the hammer is oscillatcd against the power of the spring andthen released with a snap, substantially as and for the purpose setforth.

5. The combination with ablock having on its inner face a fixedcontact-point and a ground-seat, an oscillatory longitudinallymovableshaft passing through the block at the ground-seat, a lever having a hubground on its inner face to correspond with the seat whereby it isattached to the shaft and leakage at the shaft is prevented, the outerend of said lever being adapted to engage the fixed contact-point' andforming a movable contact-point and a dog at the other end of saidshaft, of an oscillatory hammer adapted to engage the dog, the axes ofthe dog and hammer being out of alinement, a spring bearing against thedog and against the hammer, the point of engagement of the hammer withthe dog being at a greater distance from the center of the shaft thanthe point of engagement of thespring with the dog and the action'of thespring on the dog being to lift the dog, shaft and lever and retain thehub of the lever in contact with the seat, and operating mechanismwhereby the hammer is oscillated against the power of the spring andthen released with a snap.

6. In a device of the character described the combination with a fixedsparking-point, an oscillatory longitudinally-movable shaft carrying atone end a lever whose outer end forms a movable sparking-point, thelongitudinal movement of said shaft permitting said contact-points to becleaned by rubbing against each other and a dog at the other end of saidshaft, of an oscillatory hammer adapted to engage the dog, the axes ofthe dog and hammer being out of alinement, a spring bearing against thedog and against the hammer, the point of engagement of the hammer withthe dog being at a greater distance from the center of the shaft thanthe point of engagement of the spring with the dog, and operatingmechanism whereby the hammer is oscillated against the power of thespring and then released with a snap, substantially as shown, for thepurpose specified.

7. In a device of the character described the combination with anoscillatory dog and an oscillatory hammer adapted to engage the dog, theaxes of the dog and hammer being out of alinement, of a spring bearingagainst the dog and against the hammer, the point of engagement of thehammer with the dog being at a greater distance from the center ofoscillation of the dog than the point of engagement of the spring withthe dog pand a reciprocating plunger carrying a spring-controlled latchwhich is adapted to engage the hammer, tilt the latter and then releaseit with a snap, substantially as shown, for the purpose specified.

8. Inadevice ofthe character described the combination with anoscillatory dog and an oscillatory hammer adapted to engage the dog, theaxes of the dog and hammer being out of alinement, of a spring bearingagainst the dog IOO IZO

and against the hammer, the point of engagement of the hammer with thedog being at a greater distance from the center of oscillation of thedog than the point of engagement of the spring with the dog, a reciprocating plunger, a spring-controlled latch carried thereby which isadapted to engage a hammer and tilt the latter, and a regulating-camwhich is adapted to be engaged by the latch to hasten or retard therelease of the hammer and thereby produce a quick or slow spark.

9. In adevice of the character described the combination with anoscillatory dog and an oscillatory hammer adapted to engage the dog, theaxes of the dog and hammer being ont of alinement, of a spring bearingagainst the dog and against the hammer, the point ofengagement. of thehammer With the dog being at a greater distance from the center ofoscillation of the dog than the point of engagement of the spring withthe dog so that the dog will be normally controlled by the hammer, astop for limitingl the operation of the hammer in that direction andoperating mechanism for oscillating the hammerin'the oppositedirection,whereby the sprin g is oompressed, `for the purpose set forth,and then the hammer is released with a snap.

10. In a device of the character described the combination with anoscillatory dog and a pivoted oscillatory hammer adapted to engage thedog, the axes of the dog and hammer being out of alinement, of atwo-armed A coil-spring carried by the hammer-pivot, one

arm of said spring bearing against the dog and the other arm against thehammer, the point of engagement of the hammer With the dog being at agreater distance from the center of oscillation of the dog than thepoint of direct engagement of the spring with the dog, for the purposeset forth, and means for oscillating the hammer against the power of thespring and then releasing it with a snap.

ll. The combination with a Xed sparkingpoint, an oscillatory shaftcarrying at one end a lever Whose outer end forms a movablesparking-point and at the other end a dog, an oscillatory hammer adaptedto engage the dog, the axes of the dog and hammer being out ofalinement, and a spring bearing against the dog and against the hammer,substantially as described and shown, of a block by which all of saidparts are carried and with which they are removable.'

In testimony whereof I alix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

CHARLES L. BARKER.

Witnesses:

C. P. TAYLOR, W. F. KIESWETTER.

